Genetics question about barred pullets *PIX ADDED*

[Sunny Side Up]

My roosters are Brown Leghorn, Americana, EE, and recently added a Blue Rock. I have a variety of breeds of hens, including Barred Rock and Cuckoo Marans. In the past whenever there was a chick with black & white barring it has always grown up to be a cockerel.

But recently I got 2 barred chicks that have grown to be pullets. Could they be children of the Cuckoo Marans? Or is this the influence of the new Blue Rock roo? One of them has cheek muffs which make me think there is Americana influence in there too.

What do you think? Besides wanting me to post photos of them. I have been wondering about this for a while but finally got around to posting the question, give me some more time to get a photo of them to post.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

If they are barred pullets, they have to have inherited the gene from their papa. However, a blue rock would show barring if present: he would be blue barred. Are you sure a) that the youngsgters are pullets, and b) that all the barred/cuckoo "hens" are indeed hens?

 

[Cowgirl71]

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[Sunny Side Up]

There have been chicks hatching from my mixed bouquet of large-fowl production breeds for several years now. I have never had a Barred Rock rooster, just hens. My roosters have been Brown Leghorn, Americana, and Buff Rock. In the past, whenever there were black & white barred offspring they were always cockerels. They looked like Black Sex-links, not fully barred, with some brown or green in their feathers.

Recently I added a Blue Rock Roo who seems to have been going on "dates" because there are now silvery-grey chicks, I think all of them have been cockerels. With this latest batch of chicks there were also 2 barred ones, which I figured were going to be cockerels. But they are either pullets or really really slow-maturing cockerels. At 12 weeks they still have small pale combs and no pointy hackle/saddle feathers. And they don't hog the remote. I'm fairly certain they're pullets.

I'll try to get pictures of them tomorrow, we've been having a lot of rain this week. I know one of them has cheek puffs, I forget what color their legs are.

 

[Chris09]

Have you ever saved a Barred pullet out of your breeding?

Chris

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

What variety are the ameraucanas and EEs? Any barred or cuckoo ones?

 

[tigercreek]

If I am not mistaken, a blue rock will throw a barred pullet if bred to a barred hen. He most likely has a single barring gene .........stan

 

[Sunny Side Up]

Until now there has never before been a barred pullet hatched here. The Americana roo I got from McMurray (you may say he wasn't an authentic Americana) was chestnut brown with a green tail and a beautiful thick cream mane around his head. He and the Brown Leghorn are gone, now it's the Silver & the Buff Rocks and a brown EE. No barring or cuckoo color in him. I plan to get some photos to post tomorrow if the rain stops.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

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Even if he only has one copy of the gene, it should still show; his barring would look like that of a female. White can hide barring, but I don't know of other genes that can.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

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Can you take some photos of your pullet, too?